Mrs. Bush's Remarks at a Reach out and Reach Event at American Academy of Pediatrics
As Delivered
American Academy of Pediatrics
Boston, Massachusetts

Thank you, Dr. Cooper. And thanks to all of you, America's
pediatricians, for your warm welcome. How wonderful it is to be here
and to see your esteemed colleagues and my good friends, Dr. Barry
Zuckerman and Dr. Perri Klass. I also want to recognize one of my home
state's leading pediatricians, Dr. Ralph Feigin. Thank you for being
here.

I can think of no more fitting a place to talk about the importance
of books and reading than here in Boston where the first municipal
public library was founded in 1852. Joshua Bates, a banker who started
life as a book hungry boy in Weymouth, generously donated books and
resources to establish a home for learning and literature here.

Today, in that same spirit, pediatricians are sharing the gift of
books and the importance of reading with thousands of children and
their parents across the country. Pediatricians know that reading means
healthy kids and a world of opportunity for them. And you know that
being read to is the best medicine for a child's cognitive and language
development. Reading aloud provides comfort for both children and their
parents' and it paves the way for success in school. For children,
books are an adventure - they are a bridge into new and exciting worlds
where they can encounter magicians who fly, geese that lay golden eggs
and frogs that turn into princes.

But some children do not have books of their own. And some are not
read to. Many have parents who know how to read but who do not take
the time to share stories with them.

And some children have parents who can not read. For these
children, the joy of books and reading are never known. Many enter
school without basic pre-reading skills - and for them, learning to
read can be a struggle.

As pediatricians, you know that practicing language and pre-reading
skills at an early age are necessary for children to succeed later in
school - and one of the best ways to secure a strong foundation for a
lifetime of learning. Research tells us that the developing brain is
shaped by the stimulation of language, words, repetition, and reading.

The size of a toddler's vocabulary is strongly correlated to the
amount of time adults spend talking to a child. Hearing the repetition
of words helps the developing brain understand how language is
organized. Even more important, research tells us that language on TV
has little effect on the developing brain of a young child. Television
voices are just noise to a baby. Children need to hear language from
adults and loved ones. This is why it is extremely important to read to
babies every day starting as early as 6 months. Educators and
developmental psychologists consider reading aloud to children to be
the single most important activity to promote success in reading and
learning in school.

Many parents know the joy of reading to their children, whether
during cozy moments at bedtime or happy breaks in a long day. Some of
my most memorable moments as a child were the times my mother read to
me. And some of my favorite memories as a mother are of reading the
Runaway Bunny and Good Night Moon to my own daughters.

By prescribing reading aloud and giving books to children during
well-child visits, pediatricians are sharing the gift of reading with
children and parents across America. In recent years, your professional
concerns have reached beyond traditional health and safety issues.
Today, fostering a love of books and reading has become a standard part
of pediatric care.

You are turning well-child visits into an opportunity to strengthen
relationships with children and families - and to promote the
importance of reading aloud to young children. And you're making a
remarkable difference.

Through reading promotion programs, pediatricians distributed 3
million books to more than 1.5 million children last year alone. And
the books are being put to great use. According to the Federal
Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, the percentage of
children ages 3 to 5 who are read to everyday by a family member has
increased from 54 percent in 1999 to 58 percent last year. Parents
place great importance on reading to their children when a pediatrician
advises them to. And parents who are given a picture book by their
child's physician are four times more likely to read aloud to their
children.

Pediatricians who prescribe reading are not just helping children
learn to love books and reading, but they are helping parents as well.
Dr. Donna Bacchi, a pediatrician in Texas, started a reading program in
her practice. She gave her very first reading prescription to a young
boy with asthma. She talked with the boy's mother about the importance
of reading and showed her how to hold her baby and a book while
reading. After a few minutes, the mom leaned over and whispered in Dr.
Bacchi's ear, "Doctor, I do not know how to read."

Fortunately, Dr. Bacchi was prepared. She connected the mother with
a local family literacy provider so she could learn how to read - not
just stories to her child, but even more important, the labels on her
son's asthma medicine. What an extraordinary opportunity to break the
cycle of illiteracy for one family and to enrich their lives with
reading and books.

This is exactly what Reach Out and Read does for millions of
children and their families.

Dr. Bacchi believes in Reach Out and Read, and so do more than
14,000 pediatricians, nurses, and clinicians who have been trained in
and practice the program's approach to early childhood reading. I want
to thank Dr. Zuckerman for starting Reach Out and Read right here in
Boston. Since its beginning in 1989, Reach Out and Read has grown to
1,400 sites across America.

As the program has grown and spread, so too has the message that
reading is vital for young, healthy children.

I first became aware of the Reach Out and Read program when my
husband was governor of Texas. In 1997, I helped launch the first
program site in the state. Later, I worked to establish a state Reach
Out and Read office, led by Dr. Susan Cooley of the University of Texas
Health Sciences Center. Today, Reach Out and Read helps thousands of
Texas children most at risk for reading failure-children growing up in
homes without books, and without being read to.

Reach Out and Read enables physicians to help develop a family's
love of reading together. Physicians do not simply pass out books; they
follow a proven strategy for reading guidance. When children go for a
check-up, they and their parents hear stories read by volunteers in the
waiting room. Pediatricians encourage parents to read aloud every day
and explain the importance of reading at home. They show picture books
to children and their parents early in the visit to model reading
together. This also helps distract squirming children from the
ever-impending shot. Pediatricians refer parents to local libraries and
reading programs. And children are delighted when they are given a
beautiful new book to take home and read with their parents.

Children and parents are not the only ones who get something out of
the visit. As I travel to Reach Out and Read sites across the country,
doctors tell me about how much pleasure they get from being able to
offer books to their young patients.

They tell stories of children running happily into the room to ask
for a book to add to their library, and of parents coming back to
report on the newly discovered joy of reading a bedtime story.

As a former librarian, and teacher, and a perennial book lover, I'm
thrilled that a child who otherwise might never have received a book
can arrive at kindergarten age with a library all their own - and with
a greater chance of having been exposed to reading aloud.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is a great supporter of many
pediatric literacy programs, including Reach Out and Read. I commend
the Academy for encouraging pediatricians to promote early language and
pre-reading skills and for providing the materials and resources to do
so. With our continued support, Reach Out and Read can meet its goal
of launching 1,500 new program sites in the next five years. This
expansion will build the libraries and the love of reading for 3
million more children.

I encourage every pediatrician here to reach out to their young
patients and their families and share with them the gift of reading.
Educating parents about the importance of reading should become a
standard part of what pediatricians do, much as health and safety
guidance is now. What pediatricians do through programs like Reach Out
and Read is just as important as immunizations, car seats, vitamins and
good nutrition.

I encourage you to get involved with Reach Out and Read and
implement an early childhood reading program in your office. You can
also develop partnerships with your local library, school, or Head
Start program. We all have a duty to help ensure that every child is
prepared for success in school and for a lifetime of learning and
opportunity.

Massachusetts's own Dr. Seuss said, "The more that you read, the
more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places
you'll go." I want to thank Reach Out and Read and America's
pediatricians for your commitment to our children. Thanks to you,
children across the country are learning that they can go anywhere and
do anything with a new book in hand and new hope in their hearts. Thank
you.